As members of the Lancet Covid-19 Commission Taskforce on Public Health, we call for urgent action in response to the new variants. These new variants mean we cannot rely on the vaccines alone to provide protection but must maintain strong public health measures to reduce the risk from these variants. At the same time, we need to accelerate the vaccine programme in all countries in an equitable way.
Together, these strategies will deliver “maximum suppression” of the virus.
What are ‘variants of concern’?
Genetic mutations of viruses like SARS-CoV-2 emerge frequently, but some variants are labelled “variants of concern”, because they can reinfect people who have had a previous infection or vaccination, or are more transmissible or can lead to more severe disease.
South Africa SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351 easily escapes Sputnik vaccine
The current pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has undergone numerous mutations in its genome to emerge as different variants. As of now, a dozen vaccines have received emergency use authorization, and many countries around the world have initiated mass vaccination campaigns.
A new preprint research paper posted to the
medRxiv server reports on vaccine resistance data that pushes the end of the pandemic further away.
Variants of concern and spike mutations
Most vaccines now in use or being developed focus on generating antibodies to the viral spike protein, which mediates host cell entry and infection. This is based on the strong correlation between neutralizing antibodies to the spike and protective immunity.
CAL20.C SARS-CoV-2 variant skyrocketing in California evades host immune response
The effect of different neutralizing antibodies, both vaccine-elicited and from convalescent sera, suggests new variants are emerging that can evade the human immune response.
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) binds to host cells via its spike protein, which has two parts, the S1 and S2 subunits. The S1 subunit has the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and the N-terminal domain (NTD). The RBD binds to the host angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to infect host cells.
Neutralizing antibodies are produced against both the RBD and NTD by infected and vaccinated individuals. Some RBD-specific monoclonal antibodies are currently under clinical trials or approved for use to treat COVID-19 patients.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia has reported its first case of a more transmissible new variant of the coronavirus known for reducing vaccine protection, but the government on Tuesday said vaccines being used in the country could withstand the mutation.
The new variant contains the E484K mutation found in variants first identified in South Africa and Brazil.
It is nicknamed “Eek” by some scientists for its apparent ability to evade natural immunity from previous COVID-19 infection and to reduce protection offered by current vaccines.
Siti Nadia Tarmizi, a senior health ministry official, said on Tuesday that the one variant case had recovered and did not infect close contacts, adding that the vaccines currently available in Indonesia could withstand the mutation.